I joined the world of theatre, almost five years ago when I like most high schoolers just wanted to do whatever after school clubs/extracurricular activities my friends were doing. My friends decided to audition for our school Drama Club's fall musical "Mary Poppins". Never having auditioned for anything before, I just followed my friends and decided to audition myself. The cast list came out and I was the only one out of my friends who didn't get cast and at that time it crushed me but looking back I can honestly say that was one of the "best worst things" that's ever happened to me because I learned a lot from it, both about myself as a person and the world of theatre in general. I didn't let not being cast stop me from being a part of the show and I did tech backstage instead. While I didn't get to be on stage with my friends, doing tech still meant that I was a part of the show and got to hang out with them as I wanted. Not only did I get to hang out and grow closer to the friends I already had, but during tech week and throughout the course of the show I met and became friends with so many new people and while my first experience in the world of theatre wasn't exactly what I wanted it to be, I wouldn't change anything about it. I'm forever grateful for "Mary Poppins" Because of the friends and experiences it gave me and the lessons it taught me. The winter season of Drama quickly came around after we closed "Mary Poppins" our Drama Club always did two winter shows, so I again decided to try my luck, hoping I'd get cast in either of the two winter shows that year, "Around The World in 80 Days" or "The Nerd" again, I didn't get cast in either winter show but like "Mary Poppins" didn't let that stop me from being involved in one of the winter shows. I ended up being on props crew for "The Nerd" and it was one of the most fun experiences I've had while working on a show. I auditioned for the spring show that year "An Evening with Edgar Allen Poe" and finally after not having been cast in the fall or either of the winter shows, I got cast as a member of the "Vision" ensemble along with the rest of my friends and it was a lot of fun. The next three years of my career as a Drama Club member consisted of me switching back and forth between being an actor on stage or a technician backstage for each of the club's four total shows each year. I'd always try out for cast first and if I end up getting cast I'd be in the show as an actor, but if it happened that I didn't get cast in a show, I went straight for an interview as a technician. Not only did I get to know and become good friends with a lot of people both in the cast and on tech by doing this for each season of drama, but I also learned a lot about myself, specifically what I like to do and am good at when it comes to being a technician. I ended up being on the cast for all three seasons of drama during my senior year of high school and looking back at my high school theater experience, as a whole I wouldn't change anything about it. The experiences I had, the shows I was a part of and the people that I met because of doing high school theatre, will forever be special to me, and nothing will ever change that. When they say that "Theatre is like a family" I know it may sound cheesy, but they really mean that. The love for theatre I was lucky enough to find in high school, I've now brought with me to college and I can't wait to see what new people and opportunities the world of theatre has in store for me. RMHS Drama Club, thank you for making my four years as a high school student some of the very best and helping me find something that I truly love, you will forever have a special place in my heart because of that.

Sincerely,

A lifelong theatre lover